Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-01-02
THE cALIFoRNIA LAND BOOM.
a negion that CANDLES On lss
ClinAate-FaCts for Eastern Ahs
valid 4 tO KmOWs

VhG CAulrO1kN1A LAM DVV
~ Hewium that CANDLES On Its
GA mate-Facts for Eastern ln'
vAllds so Know.
Editorial Correspondence of the CONNER
cial Advertiser.
Los ANGELES, CAL, December S.--Los
Angeles is the largest city in the boom
that is to say, it is the chief town IN
Southern California, ipr, while Southern
California Is a geographical entity, it is
rather a. boom than as region that
one is impressed with it.
Los Angeles had 5000 inhabitants in
1880; it now has $4,000. Most OF then
have been here about three weeks or SO
Now and then you find man who will
confess to residenosi of three months
: or put on the airs Of an old inhabitan,
on the strength Of having lived In tht
town for year. II you inquire the way
to any place, or ask question about
anything, everybody around you will
cohfess ignorance on the plea OF briel
rex;dence. =
What are they all doing? Nothing in
the way Of business, for the most part,
because there is really very little bust.
ness do. There is very little country
round about, except adobe deserts, and
nothing whatever that I can discover to
call for the existence of city of such
sise in this quarter of the world. Yet
real estate is furious in its activity. and
even the people who, in answer to ques.
tions, admit that there Is no natura!
occasion for anything more than small
town in this quarter, are nevertheless
convinced-or profess to be so-thst the
present purely fictitious prices OF land
wia be main tained or increased. They
found their faith ON pulmonary censump'
tion. Their argument N that the east
is full Of people nursing tubercies, who
will continue to pour into Southern
Califoruia in . steady and sufficient
stream to keep the boom gong. For
my part, l don't believe it, and / am
going presently to give the reasons for
my sceptioism.
But iirst let me relate some facts in
llustration Of the nature, extent and
methods of speculation. A friend Of
my own had . little place of twenty
acres twenty miles from Los Angeles, and
therefore quite that distance from any.
where else. A newcomer appeared last
week and gave him $40, 900 for the place
$500 an acre for agricultural land!
Other sales, big and little, are made at
ven higher prices. This is casual. Or
Apized speculation is more striking. A
x prite plan il to get little water for
ation, run ditch to piece of adobe
1T, lay off streets and call the ''town"
IA new name, or, if the place be in the
hmediate neighborhood of Los Angeles,
lame il somebody's .'tract." Then a
Aumber Of houses are run up on some of
)the lots. drums are set beating, free
coaches, blazoned with advertisements,
are run TO the scene of action and q sale
is made. The terms usually are $40
down ON each lot and $40 month with.
out interest till all is paid, and the
houses are thrown ip for distribution by
chance.
One circular which have before me
offers 500 lots, with forty houses, said
to be worth $500 to $4,000 each, and .
e30. 900 hotel. The price of the lots is
$500 each; terms. $50 cash, remainder
In monthly instalments Of SIS each with.
out interest. The lucky ones will draw
houses and the hotel free. In another
case, to make the inducements complete,
Tho owner offers to give $40 worth of
electrical railway tickets to each pur.
chaser of lot. To be sure, there isn't
any electrical railway. but there is sup
posed to be speculative prospect of one
h- the future. and Los Angeles deals
largely in the future.
Almost every business block has an
Office in it devoted to the exploiting Of
one of these s'tracts," and should sup
pose that lots enough are now pressed
upon buyers to supply new population
Of 10000 people with homesteads.
Moreover, spite of the confidence every.
body processes to feel in the stability Of
the boom and the future great advance
in prices, observe that every body here
who has property II exceedingly anxious
TO sell it. The buyers are the consump-
uves from the east.
The speculative mania has extended
TO Ill Glasses. The very bellboys in the
one fair hotel Of the town have caught
il. Ring your bell three times for ice
water; the boy will speedily appear.
Neglect to fee him on the first occasion,
and then try for second pitcher. Try
for an hour, a. I did, and then 60 down
TO the Office to make inquiry. You will
learn. a. I did, that at every ring the
clerk has ''sent" the boy to you, and he
will tell you that If the boys don't go
when he sends them he can do nothing.
Outside of Los Angeles and San Diego
which are the chief senters of specu.
lation-the craze is as active as insthem.
Riverside is going to extend its seven
mile avenue half . dozen miles fur ther,
: and an addition on the east is also to be
made. All over the dosolate adobe
desert within twenty miles Of Riverside
spots are poikted out to you as places
where ''they are going TO make town. y
The process IL simple. A water supply
i secured and fumes and bitches con-
structed. Then streets and lots are laid
of and the land offered for sale at
prices varying from 5000 an acre to $500
lot.
Now for my reasons for believing that
somebody is going to get hurt. In the
frat place, cannot believe in consump.
tives ~ safe crop. There are fashions
In climates for consumptives, for one
thing, and Southern California may 60
out Of fashion, as Minnesota did gen
Grafton ago, and as certain favored parts
Of the South have done since. In the
second place, while my opinion may be
worth nothing on such . point. as am
not physician, can see no reason for
regarding the climate of this region as
GOOD one for eonsumptives. 1t is q
reeion.of colds and influenzas. Every.
Icdy who comes hithsr. 20 far as can
laarn. catches cold % soon as he o.
rivss, and everybody, or nearly every
body, who lives here seems to suffeI
chronically from that cause. The days
Is winter are warm, but the evenings
Arc cool, and the change, when the sur
goes down, is dangerously sudden.
Moreover, even when it is uncomfort
ABLY warm outside, all rooms on the
r. Il a~xl xA~xIk